Am i over reacting by feeling unconfortable about this?

Unfortunately you did weeonion. But thechairmanmeow is more oppressed than women so obviously we should just suck it up.

There is no male privilege at work there at all. Oh no. Not at all.

"maybe he does find he gets casual sex occasionaly from married women who arnt getting any at home, if he's a bit pushy, of course if your the type of women that would never consider casual sex with a taxi driver then he will seem very creepy, but the fact is there are women who will"

So a man who asks inapproriate sexual questions to a woman is not to blame - he's just chancing his arm for casual sex?????? He might need to get "a bit pushy" but really if you find him creepy - that's down to you???

Did i really read that on a feminism womens rights thread?

you did nothing wrong, and i'm sure you felt very uncomfortable.
is he handsome? maybe he does find he gets casual sex occasionaly from married women who arnt getting any at home, if he's a bit pushy, of course if your the type of women that would never consider casual sex with a taxi driver then he will seem very creepy, but the fact is there are women who will.
also, talking about sex can be a good way of flirting.
i doubt very much that he is dangerous but you never know, i would suggest useing a different taxi firm in future .

This driver was completely in the wrong. Depending on where you live, many of them can be.

To those who advise asking the driver to stop and getting out, I would urge caution unless you know a) he will actually stop safely b) you can get out of the car safely and c) you are in an area you will feel safe waiting in and can then get another local cab.

I will never forget 'upsetting' a mini cab driver by asking politely if he could slow down a bit He sped up and then took a bend at an even higher speed. I was terrified.

This is why I dont get taxis.

YANBU. I'd report him.

My God! What a creep!
I wouldn't even ask my friends about their sex lives, least of all a complete stranger.

He's a perv. Stay way out of him. Dont' ever hire him again and if he asks tell him what you think.

It's hard to show this sort of person how wrong they are, but something has to be done.

If he ever asks something of the sort, report him to the police and say that you felt unsafe in his cab.

His lincence should be removed if he keeps talking like that to you or any other woman.

You were giving off a vibe of Being A Woman In His Cab. I'm not too sure there's a lot you could have done about that.

He was either a complete creep, very nosey and lacking in social skills, clumsily trying to come onto you or some combination of all of the above.

Don't feel bad for answering, he caught you off guard and we are programmed to be nice and polite and not make a fuss so for all the comebacks probably circling in your mind now, you couldn't help replying and you did so in a perfectly dignified manner.

Whatever the problem is, it's his, not yours and his odd behaviour is no reflection at all on you do please don't worry that you are giving off "a vibe" or anything like that.

The terrifying TFL ads trying to scare women into using cabs was touting an expensive phone line. It was a scare-mongering, officially sanctioned advert.

I don't really understand the advice to use taxis. It doesn't make sense to me.

Actually, the advice to women to take taxis rather than public transport rather ties in with the most dangerous rape myth - the one that says you need to put yourself under the protection of one man to be safe from the others. This is a myth rapists like; a percentage of them use it in order to get a woman in a vulnerable position.

I agree with that SGB.

Yup: public transport is often a safer option than a taxi, simply because there are more people on board, the majority of whom might either intervene if a bloke got out of order, or their presence would deter a rapist. Whereas taxi-driving, particularly the rougher end of mini-cabbing, is a very popular job with dangerous men. They aren't really answerable to anyone, they can choose their own hours - and once there's a woman in the car, they have a degree of power over her: they can lock the doors and just drive off with her.

He was out of line. It may be a lack of social skills rather than an indication that he's potentially dangerous: taxi driving is one of those jobs that a high percentage of not-very-adequate men do, as if they are socially inept it doesn't show up so much. Unfortunately it is also the sort of job popular with predators because of the amount of opportunity it gives them to do harm.

You did nothing wrong. Most people, particularly women, are socialized to be 'polite' which means answering questions even when they are becoming too personal. I remember years ago being upset by an optician asking me too many personal questions and not being able to think of a way of shutting him up at the time (I didn't feel I could complain as it wasn't about sex and his motives were not to humiliate, he was just fucking nosy and clearly had some odd ideas).

A good answer in this sort of situation is 'I think that's a rather personal question.' and then wait. If the person apologises, change the subject to something harmless like whether they saw [whatever] TV programme last night, or the weather. If the person gets stroppy, that's the cue to walk away without a word or (if it's a taxi driver) insist on getting out of the car, and say you'll report him, because someone who hasn't got the good sense or good manners to back off at that point is someone who wants a good official slapping down.

You're not giving off a vibe. He probably sees you as vulnerable if your husband is not well and you're taking care of him so he thinks he can take advantage. What a creepy perv.

Easy answer to these things, and it sounds like he was probably making you uncomfortable already with his probing questions, given your short replies, could be "I'd prefer not to talk about this/xyz just now".

You've not been stupid and he's a wanker. People do not react in confrontational ways in difficult situations as a matter of course so it makes perfect sense you answered.

Carer, he was out of line and you shouldn't blame yourself

I also wouldn't beat yourself up for not automatically coming out with the Killer Comeback. Many of us would have said/did what you did. And it's very easy to come up with a biting retort a safe period after the event.

I think that question was out of line, but sometimes it's hard to get one's guard up in a hurry. But I don't think the right response would necessarily be to become offended in a major way, just to say "That's getting a bit personal."